My First Week in the MTC

  First thing first... A MISSION IS HARD!!!!! So After you pulled away from the curb I was to busy to cry or think about anything I had left behind. I got into my class and right away started learning Romanian.  The second day we got to class and our teacher Sora Remsburg told us to prepare for a lesson with an investigator in Romania first thing the next morning.  How much Romanian did I know? None.  So after preparing and studying the language like crazy I and my companion Sora Quist gave the lesson about the Restoration.  I am sure we sounded crazy, God appeared, gold plate, something that was neither in Romanian English or Spanish.... But the spirit was so strong and I said my testimony in Romanian. Eu Stiu ca biserica lui Isus Hristor este adevarat (I know that the church of Jesus Christ is true).  The word for truth, adevarat (truth), was something I didn't know but just popped into my head. And because of the testifying of the power of prayer he prayed at the end and decided to keep praying and read the Cartea Lui (his book) Mormon. That first day was an amazing testament of the gift of languages.  All missionaries are given this gift, English speaking and foreign because at the MTC the language we are learning to be fluent in is the language of the spirit.
    The Sisters and Elders in my Zone are super funny:) Everyday I am laughing so hard I am crying:) I think I and the 3rd oldest sister, and all of the Elders are younger than me, age 18 so they are right out of high school and full of the hilariousness required to be 18.
    On Sunday we had a movie night in which we watched a video of Elder Bednar giving a talk called Character of Christ.  He talked about some amazing things!! And it is only a talk that you can watch in the MTC.  He said a lot of times we are selfish and say "I want language understanding now." Or like the cookie monster "I want cookie now!!!" It was hilarious!! By being patience and serving others our gift of tongues will grow with time. He defined conversion as continuing to practice what we know and said that about 6% of the missionaries there would leave the church he also gave his apolistic promise that if you are truly converted to the gospel you will never leave.  So that was cool! Don't think I will be leaving the church anytime soon.  He talked about the Brother of Jared asking God to light the 16 stones by touching them with his finger and pointed out that the Brother of Jared did not see God's finger until he had enough faith to see it.  And the stones in that story represent the people we serve, our investigators, our companions, and pretty much everyone we teacher. As we help god touch their lives we get to witness them be lit, and as we watch more and more people be lit then we can finally see the hand of God more fully in our lives.  It was super interesting.
   In the auditorium we were watching the movie in there are cameras and they kept moving and zooming in on us during the film and I pointed it out and said, "That is so creepy that someone is watching us and I made a silly face to whoever was watching the film.  When the movie finished the spirit was so strong it was crazy! Then everyone (3,000 missionaries) stood up and gasped, I looked down as the door opened and the actual Elder Bednar walked into the auditorium.  Yeah, so he was watching us as we watch one of his old videos from 2 years ago and looking at our reactions.  So I am pretty sure I scuzed Elder Bednar off for creeping me out. Haha:) Oh well! Shrug*
   He came to the pulpit and the first thing he said was, "I hear there is an Apostle that does a pretty good impression of the cookie monster." I mean, of course I am crying my guts out!!! there is an apostle I just scuzed off standing right in front of me!!!! Then he said I would like to open this up to questions as you will probably never get a chance to ask them in such a small amount of time. The questions:
Why don't women have the priesthood?(He started to answer then she interrupted him, yea interrupted an apostle) Can I get a scripture or something?
His response:
"Yes, they are living." Meaning I am the scriptures let me give you an actual answer. How would you like to be rebuked by an apostle of the lord!!!
He compared the priesthood to a protective umbrella that covered and protected everyone but the men just hold it.  There is nothing more or less to it than that.
How can we be better missionaries?
"Just be a good boy or girl"
Why is church attendance important?
He talked about how Church attendance is a small part of the gospel, it is an opportunity to practice the gospel in a social setting and through serving others.  If you are part of this church then you should be attending church and LIVING the church in your everyday life through family scripture study personal scripture study and family service projects.
He didn't pick me to ask a question. But if he did I would have asked, after we invite people to come to Christ and teach them all the lessons and after their baptism how do we ensure their continued conversion to the gospel with the definition that you gave in your talk?

My Romanian is crazily good for just a week!! Ask me a question about the gospel and I can answer in Romanian.  I would like to hear what questions you would ask an apostle of the lord, send them to me this week and if I get the chance I will ask!!! I love you all I miss you and I wish I could give you a big hug!!

I love you so much!!! I will send you picture next week because I don't have a lot of time.
Heart,
 Sora Long

(I guess she found time to post pictures!) 

Sora Quist and I at the temple.

Us at the pharmacy:) Sora Quist wasn't feeling well this week.  My cold was terrible, but It is gone now:)